State of Washington v. Shawn Rutherford Kueck

Spokane, Washington, criminal defense lawyer represents the Defendant charged with animal cruelty.

Digested by Kent Morlan

T.K. and Shawn Kueck were married and lived on a rural farm in Rice, Washington. In September 2023, the parties separated after a fight and T.K. left the home with the children. Claiming he was "downsizing" the animals, Kueck shot and buried three of their horses. In October, Kueck was arrested and charged with several crimes, including first degree animal cruelty for killing a horse named Chabi.

The statute on animal cruelty in the first degree provides in relevant part: "(1) A person is guilty of animal cruelty in the first degree when, except as authorized in law, he or she intentionally . . . (c) kills an animal by a means causing undue suffering or while manifesting an extreme indifference to life, or forces a minor to inflict unnecessary pain, injury, or death on an animal." RCW 16.52.205(1).

The animal cruelty statute does not define the phrase "extreme indifference to life." In other contexts, the phrase has been parsed using dictionary definitions. See State v. Madarash, 116 Wn.App. 500, 512, 66 P.3d 682 (2003) (defining "extreme" and "indifference"). These definitions, however, do not resolve the phrase's meaning in the specific context of the animal cruelty statute.

The jury found Kueck guilty of two counts of unlawful imprisonment, two counts
of interfering with the reporting of domestic violence, and one count of first degree animal cruelty pertaining to Chabi.

Affirmed